Artifacts - Grant Keddie

Bone Food Strainer Prongs

By Grant Keddie. 2012. Introduction One type of artifact that bridges the gap between archaeology and ethnology in British Columbia are bone food strainer prongs. Archaeologists have often described these as worked rib artifacts without a suggestion as to what they might be. They are usually made of seal or deer ribs, but some are also of antler. A number of these artifacts share similar characteristics to the prongs of rare food strainers found in ethnology collections. The ethnographic examples given here are from further north than the archaeological examples shown. However, I suspect that bone food strainers were disused earlier in the historic period in the south and did not get documented by ethnologists or placed in Museum collections. Ethnographic Examples The Royal B.C. Museum ethnology … Continue reading “Bone Food Strainer Prongs”

Ulna Bone Tools

Originally published in The Midden, 44(3/4). Ulna Bone Tools: Identifying Their Function By Grant Keddie. 2012. Ulna tools have several main uses that are often not recognized in the archaeological literature. Based on my own experimental uses and an examination of the ethnographic literature, we can describe at least four different common uses of ulna tools. Ulna bones, which are the lower limb bones in animals, have a naturally shaped end that functions as a handle with little or no modification needed, and the pointed end is easy to shape into a functioning tool. The working ends of these tools need to be different to fit the intended function. Non-ulna bones with similar ends may, of course, have similar functions. … Continue reading “Ulna Bone Tools”

Stone Cultural Feature in Thunderbird Park

By Grant Keddie. 22-02-2013. Introduction At the Royal B.C. Museum, in Victoria, British Columbia, a large natural stone with a shallow concave surface can be seen outside in the native plant garden near the North-East corner of Thunderbird Park (Figure 1 & 2). This is a cultural object associated with First Nations that was once located south of Kamloops in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The recorded details of its history are somewhat confusing. The natural shallow depression on the top of the rock fills with water when it rains, often forming unique patterns on the surface of the water. One could speculate that it may have been used like a mirror (Figure 3). During light rainfalls, … Continue reading “Stone Cultural Feature in Thunderbird Park”

The Atlatl Weapon

By Grant Keddie. 1988. Introduction The atlatl (pronounced at-ul-at-ul) is a fascinating weapon, used long before the bow and arrow. An atlatl is made of wood or antler, often thin and flat, and ranges from 30 cm to 1 meter in length. One end is held in the hand while the butt of a light spear is placed in a surface groove at the other end. At the end of the groove is a raised spur or attached pin to hold the bottom of the spear in place while it is held in a slightly raised position by the same hand that holds the handle end of the atlatl. Using the leverage of this short board, which functioned like an … Continue reading “The Atlatl Weapon”

Ritual Bowls

Originally published in The Midden, 14(6). February 1983. By Grant Keddie Ritual Bowls of the Salish Indians: Some Theories Two questions I am commonly asked when giving public demonstrations in artifact technology revolve around the use of stone bowls and whether or not individuals or families specialized in making these and other stone tools commonly found by the archaeologist. The purpose of this article is to 1) provide a brief summary of Wilson Duff’s conclusions regarding his ethnographic survey of the use of human seated figurine bowls (as presented in Prehistoric Stone Sculpture of the Fraser River and Gulf of Georgia – Anthropology in British Columbia, No. 5, 1956); 2) to present two accounts of stone bowl use not mentioned … Continue reading “Ritual Bowls”

Quiltanton Atlatl

2007. By Grant Keddie Quiltanton Lake Atlatl (EcRg-Y:1). A Technical Description Introduction An Atlatl is a weapon composed of a flexible light spear or dart and a shorter throwing board that acts as a lever to propel the dart through the air. The throwing boards themselves are often called atlatls. This is currently the only example of the throwing board component of an atlatl weapon found in British Columbia. It was found in 1988 by Pat Rozek, a heavy equipment operator. Pat found it sticking out of the mud at the bottom of the freshly drained Quiltanton Lake – located in the Highland Valley east of Ashcroft in the southern Interior of British Columbia . A radio-carbon date obtained on … Continue reading “Quiltanton Atlatl”

Netting Needles of British Columbia

Originally Published in The Midden, 24(3). 2010. By Grant Keddie There are two basic types of needles used in making and repairing nets found in ethnographic collections in British Columbia. The Eye and Tongue needle and the Prong End needle. The first type (figure 1) has often been presented in publications as a traditional First Nation’s artifact. In fact, it was introduced by Europeans to this region. This example is from the fishing village of Arbroath in my ancestral Scotland. The way the Eye and Tongue needle is strung can be seen in figure 2. This style of needle, by having a thin point and the twine sunk in the broad grooves on the sides, passes more easily through the … Continue reading “Netting Needles of British Columbia”

The Mystery of the Saturna Island Figurine Head

Originally published in The Midden, 24(3). 2011. By Grant Keddie David Scott’s Discovery and the Never Ending Story The topic of trans-Pacific contact is a controversial one. It is often said of academics that they ignore evidence that does not fit the accepted status quo. The story of this case is an interesting scenario of how the discovery of an artifact is dealt with when it does not fit our understanding of local history. This story transcends a period of four Museum Curators and now 62 years later is still unresolved. Are we dealing with evidence of ancient long distance trans-Pacific voyaging, long distant trade between the continents of the New World, or an example of unusual refuse from the … Continue reading “The Mystery of the Saturna Island Figurine Head”

Kootenay Lichen Pounder

Originally published in The Midden, 20(1). February 1988. By Grant Keddie Flat, paddle-shaped, stone hand-mauls are found in some large prehistoric village sites in the southeastern interior of British Columbia. Many people have been curious as to what they were used for and how old they are. The specimen shown in Figure 1 seems to me to represent the native artisan’s “mental template” or perfect idea of what a hand-maul of this type should look like. The specimen is one of several hundred handmauls collected by Keith and Ellen Edgell from intermittently flooded sites along the Arrow Lakes. This particular specimen does not appear to have been used. Many similar artifacts are worn down almost to their handles; the bottoms … Continue reading “Kootenay Lichen Pounder”

Human Images. Clothing the Past

Originally published in The Midden, 41(3), 11-14. 2009. By Grant Keddie An important project launched by the Archaeological Society of British Columbia in the 1970s was the documentation of artifacts in private collections. Many of these collections are now dispersed, making this record an important contribution to the understanding of past human behavior—especially in the case of rarer objects. In the spirit of this project, I will describe four examples of rare human images from private collections and one from the Royal B.C. Museum collection. These human figures, one incised on siltstone and four carved of elk antler, may tell us about the kinds of clothing and other body adornment used by their makers. All examples are undated artifacts with … Continue reading “Human Images. Clothing the Past”